Retinal detachments occur when the retina peels away from its underlying support tissue, thereby allowing subretinal fluid to enter between the retina and underlying support tissue. Retinal detachments may occur as a result of a localized hole or tear in the retina and may rapidly spread potentially resulting in detachment of the entire retina if left untreated, ultimately resulting in severe vision impairment or blindness.
Retinal detachment may occur in three ways: (1) rhegmatogenous retinal detachment; (2) tractional retinal detachment; and (3) exudative retinal detachment. Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment occurs when a hole or break forms in the retina, allowing the vitreous humor to flow between the retina and underlying support tissue and thereby cause the retina to detach. Tractional retinal detachment occurs when scar tissue causes the retina to detach from the underlying support tissue. Finally, exudative retinal detachment occurs when fluid seeps out of blood vessels beneath the retina into a space between the retina and underlying support tissue, thereby causing the retina to detach.
A number of treatment options currently exist but each of them include varying drawbacks. One method of treatment is scleral buckle surgery in which one or more bands may be attached to the sclera of the eye. The one or more bands may push the wall of the eye inward towards the retinal hole or tear and remain in place until the retina re-attaches to the underlying support tissue. However, scleral buckle surgery often results in myopic shift and other complications.
Another traditional form of treatment is through pneumatic retinopexy, wherein a gas bubble is injected into the eye followed by laser or freezing treatment to the hole or tear in the retina. The patient is then positioned such that the gas bubble migrates to a position adjacent to the site of the hole or tear in the retina until the retina has healed. However, pneumatic retinopexy requires that the patient maintain their head in a designated position to maintain the bubble against the hole or tear in the retina, and further may be impractical when the hole or tear occurs in certain portions of the eye.
Recently, experiments have been conducted wherein a retinal detachment is treated with a ferrofluid. Specifically, the ferrofluid is injected into the eye and a magnetic source is placed adjacent to the site of detachment to attract the ferrofluid and thereby pull the retina against the underlying support tissue. However, this method of treatment has several drawbacks including displacement of the ferrofluid during treatment. Additionally, the ferrofluid may enter the sub-retinal space between the detached retina and underlying support tissue and prevent re-attachment of the retina. Finally, removal of the ferrofluid may be difficult because the individual magnetic particles may be dispersed within the eye or may drift under the retina between the retina and underlying support tissue. If magnetic particles remain in the eye, a patient may experience pain or other medical issues such as, for example, complications if the patient later undergoes a magnetic resonance imaging (MM) procedure.
What is needed, therefore, is a simple method and apparatus for treating a retinal detachment that minimizes side effects and improves recovery results of the patient.